Notice to Students
Concerning the Process for
Continuing Dissertation Services

Continuing Dissertation Services Fees (FSEHS Policy 1.1.2)
The doctoral program is designed to be completed within three years of consecutive enrollment. During the first two years, students ideally complete all required courses and have an approved applied dissertation proposal. During the third year, completion of the applied dissertation is achieved.

• Continuing dissertation services begin at the 25th month from the initial term of enrollment, irrespective of completion of coursework, at which time students will automatically be placed in ADS 8090 - Applied Dissertation Services I, per term, for a period of up to one year, a $100 tuition fee will be assessed.
• After the 36th month, irrespective of completion of coursework, students are responsible for registering for ADS 8091 - Applied Dissertation Services II, per term, to be eligible for services.
• Students who are in continuing services (ADS 8090 and ADS 8091) and have additional coursework to complete will be charged course tuition in addition to the continuing dissertation services fees.
• Continuing dissertation services fees will be applied at the beginning of the 37th month from the initial term of enrollment. Students are responsible for registering for ADS 8091, per term, to be eligible for services until the applied dissertation is completed and approved.
• Students will be charged a flat tuition rate of three credits (billable hours only) for each subsequent term of enrollment for ADS 8091.

Students must complete all program requirements, including coursework and the applied dissertation within five (5) years of their start date. At the end of five years, students who have not yet completed the applied dissertation may be granted a continuing dissertation services extension for one year, provided the student’s proposal for their applied research has been approved. It is the responsibility of the student to request a one-year continuing dissertation services extension. Requests for a one-year extension must be made through the Office of Enrollment Services a minimum of one month before the end of the fifth year. See FSEHS Policy 1.02 – Doctoral Program Completion Timeline for additional details.

PLEASE NOTE: An additional one-year continuing dissertation services extension may be granted in extraordinary circumstances, if approved by the Executive Dean who oversees the Office of Academic Affairs. This is not a Student Services decision rather it is academic. It is the responsibility of the student to request the additional extension and provide evidence of extraordinary need a minimum of one month before the end of the sixth year.

All doctoral students in the Fischler School of Education and Human Services (FSEHS) are subject to a continuing dissertation service fee if they have not achieved final approval for their applied dissertation by the time they have completed their regular academic schedule. Final approval includes the following steps:

1. After the dissertation committee approves the applied dissertation, the student must send a complete copy of the dissertation by regular mail to the attention of “Final Format Review” at the Applied Research Center (ARC). The receipt of the document initiates the final-approval process. See the “Notice to Students Concerning the Process for Submission of Applied Dissertation for Final Approval” for details.
2. The ARC staff verifies that committee approval has been officially granted and that a completed and signed Format Checklist is attached to the dissertation. Additionally, the ARC staff verifies that registration and financial records are in order and that a grade recommendation has been received. This process may take several days. After the committee approval and student records are verified, the manuscript is given to the format review coordinator.
3. The dissertation is reviewed for format in the order in which it is received by the reviewer. Most documents are reviewed within 15 business days of receipt. If revisions are required, the format review will be sent to the student's NSU e-mail account. The format-review phase continues until all format issues have been resolved.
4. Upon the resolution of all format issues (whether by the first submission or by a subsequent revision), the student will receive notification that the format-review phase has been completed. The notification is sent to the student’s NSU e-mail address. After completion of the format review, the document is referred to the academic program’s professor of applied research.
5. The professor’s review may take up to 10 business days. In some cases, the professor may communicate with the student’s committee chair to suggest changes or revisions. The professor’s review process will continue until all specified issues have been resolved.
6. After the professor’s review has been completed, the executive dean for research and evaluation will notify the student (by e-mail and regular mail) of the final approval of the applied dissertation. The notification will include directions to send final copies, a disk, and required paperwork. Upon receipt of the notification, the student should secure the signatures of the committee chair and committee member (if applicable) for the approval page.
7. When all required documents are received by the ARC, notification of the fulfillment of requirements will be sent to the Fischler School of Education and Human Services’ Office of Student Services. The official completion date of applied research requirements is the date that all completed and required documents are received by the ARC.
8. The university registrar will post a grade for the applied dissertation within approximately 2 weeks of receipt by the ARC of the required documents.

Once this process is complete, the ARC will officially enter the grade for the applied dissertation and will complete the necessary paperwork to indicate that the requirements of the applied dissertation have been met. A copy of the fulfillment form is sent to the program office and to the person responsible for the degree conferral process.

Degree Completion Requirements
In order to graduate from any program of study, students must complete all required prerequisites, program coursework, capstone experiences, and testing requirements for the given program of study. Students must submit a Degree Application for conferral. Each program has different requirements; it is the student’s responsibility to complete all requirements outlined in his/her program of study that are in effect at the time of initial enrollment. Enrollment Services Representatives and Doctoral Enrollment Counselors are available to explain all degree completion requirements.

Degree Conferral
Nova Southeastern University will recommend the candidate to the Board of Trustees for the degree only upon completion of all program requirements for the degree. Degrees are awarded at the end of the official term of the candidate’s last term of enrollment. All financial obligations with the University must be cleared at the time of degree conferral.

For all students seeking a degree, an application for the degree must be filed with the University at least 30 days before the date anticipated for degree conferral. All degree requirements must be completed at least 30 days prior to the date of expected degree conferral.

For doctoral students, submission of the copy of the completed dissertation to the Applied Research Center (ARC) does not constitute an application for conferral of the doctoral degree. The dissertation in its final form must be submitted to the ARC at least 30 days before the expected date of degree conferral. Doctoral students are reminded (a) if enrolled in Applied Dissertation Services (ADS 8090 or ADS 8091) for the current term in which the dissertation report was graded, the degree will be awarded at the end of the term, and (b) students must be enrolled in ADS during the final format review process, and (c) that the format reviewers, and/or, the dissertation committees frequently require revisions and corrections, and that these revisions must be made before the dissertation is ready for final submission to the ARC and subsequent binding.

Program Completion Timeline
Doctoral Program Completion Timeline (FSEHS Policy 1.02)

All degree requirements must be completed within seven years from the initial term of enrollment. Students who are unable to complete all degree requirements within seven years from the initial term of enrollment will be dismissed from the program.

See FSEHS Policy 1.1.2 – Continuing Dissertation Services Fees for additional details.

Please be aware that the final approval process can take from several weeks to several months, depending on the number of required document revisions and the number of dissertations received simultaneously by the ARC.